The newly refurbished State Dining Room provides an elegant setting for
the formal
entertaining of guests and foreign dignitaries. The famous George P.A.
Healy portrait
of Abraham Lincoln hangs above the marble mantel of the fireplace. Trees
trimmed
with the festive ingredients of a season rich in tradition - gold holly,
cinnamon
sticks, pine cones and crystallized fruits - accent the room.
Each holiday season the State Dining Room showcases the traditional
gingerbread creation
by the White House Pastry Chefs. This year, Mrs. Clinton invited the
chefs to capture
the fantasy of Winter Wonderland on a grand scale. The State Dining Room
table has been
transformed into a magnificent, edible kingdom. A mountainous forest
surrounds the
gingerbread castle and its towers and bridges. Miniature versions of
Socks and Buddy
frolic throughout the kingdom in the true spirit of the holidays.
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